coming soon to a blighted orange grove near you? Indian jungle tree that is hard to kill and produces a bean that has market value as a protein and biofuel. Nout sure we need to bring another invasive species that is hard to kill to Florida but it is happening. I'm sure as soon as Desi hears about this biofuel nonsense these trees will be deemed invasive Pongamia trees grow where citrus once flourished, offering renewable energy and plant-based protein (news4jax.com) An ancient tree from India is now thriving in groves where citrus trees once flourished in Florida, and could help provide the nation with renewable energy. As large parts of the Sunshine State’s once-famous citrus industry have all but dried up over the past two decades because of two fatal diseases, greening and citrus canker, some farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel. .................................................... “Florida offers a rare opportunity for both Terviva and former citrus farmers. The historical decline of the citrus industry has left farmers without a crop that can grow profitably on hundreds of thousands of acres, and there needs to be a very scalable replacement, very soon,” Sikka told The Associated Press. “Pongamia is the perfect fit." What is the pongamia tree? The pongamia is a wild tree native to India, Southeast Asia and Australia. The legume is now being used to produce several products, including Panova culinary oil and protein, which are featured ingredient in Aloha's Kona protein bars. The company also makes protein flour. The legumes also produce oil that can be used as a biofuel, largely for aviation, which leaves a very low carbon footprint, said Ron Edwards, chairman of Terviva's board of directors and a long-time Florida citrus grower.
Usually it’s the environmentalists who get all wound up about invasive species, doubt Desi does a thing. Curious if they are harder on the environment than citrus with respect to water demands and fertilizers.
But climate and disease have little effect on pongamia trees, the company's officials said. “It’s just tough, a jungle-tested tree” Edwards said. “It stands up to a lot of abuse with very little caretaking." Pongamia also grows well in Hawaii, where it now thrives on land previously used for sugarcane.
If they can't figure out citrus greening they're gonna need another crop either way. Greening is decimating crops still
The state should allow and encourage the farmers to grow hemp( non THC ) or create bamboo fields. Both are fast growing renewable plants that have 100's of uses across many industries. Florida could become a leader in the production and innovation in the states of these two plants.
Cannot fault farmers for saving their livelihood. However, to replace thousands of acres of fruit producing trees with trees that produce beans that are so nasty wild hogs refuse to eat them, and 90+% of average citizens will never interact with them, is just one more major blow to the food chain. Hopefully all the arrogant know-it-alls who claim poor people "just need to make healthier food choices" remember this when an orange costs $3 and orange juice costs $10-15 per half gallon.
Interesting. My wife and I were just sitting on the back porch having a cup of coffee and wondering about either buying or hiring a goat to eat some kudzu.
There was a time that not that long ago that Orange groves were plentiful in North Florida. Not so many years ago Orange trees grew between 441 and Orange Lake in Northern Marion county. From I-75 to Orlando they were on both sides of the road as far as you could see. From memory the freeze of 1985 ended that and housing developments took the place of Orange groves.
The big freeze was Christmas of 1989 I believe. We were staying at my dads house for the holidays. He was pretty well known in the citrus industry and grove owners were calling all day wanting to know if he could get them a picking crew. His standard answer was "I can't even get pickers for my own groves". I don't know if 89 was any worse than 85 but I do know the 89 freeze drove a lot of grove owners out of business.
Orange juice isn't a "healthy food choice" anyway. That is a ploy of marketing. It has basically no fiber and (soda like) high levels of sugar and calories and can actually lead to unhealthy wait gain.
most the OJ in the US already comes from South America. I have a client and his wife handles most of the giant ships that bring in OJ for the local producers, mainly Tropicana. To call OJ from Florida, it only has to contain something like 10% actual Florida OJ. The rest is shipped in.
That will not change the perception. The US has more oil than ever before and gas prices are artificially inflated to over $3.30/gallon retail. The perception that the US is losing citrus farms will greatly outweigh any reality, and companies like Tropicana and Minute Maid will take advantage of that manipulated story.
